How do older adults cross the digital divide and enjoy the benefits of ride-hailing services with the collision of the aging and digital society in China?

IF 7.6 2区管理学 Q1 INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE

Telematics and Informatics Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI:10.1016/j.tele.2025.102239

Huiqian Sun, Peng Jing, Yaqi Liu, Daoge Wang, Jie Ye, Wanru Du, Hongyu Ma, Can Wang, Shuang Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Previous scholarly endeavors to examine the digital divide about using ride-hailing services among older adults from a macro perspective fail to delve into the specific challenges within each operational step. This study aims to investigate ride-hailing services among older adults in China, focusing on the digital divide in using processes from a micro perspective. We used the face-to-face survey data of older adults (N = 811) to conduct a step-by-step analysis to explore the digital divide in ride-hailing app operations among older adults by dividing it into nine steps. Next, the diffusion of innovation theory was extended and applied to investigate how innovative and digital factors influence older adults’ intention to use ride-hailing services. The results show that older adults faced a great “using divide” in operating the ride-hailing apps, especially in the following three steps: Step 6: Choose a suitable ride-hailing model, Step 2: Sign up and log in to a ride-hailing account, Step 5: Locate my current location. Considering user characteristics, the structural equation modeling further revealed the differential effect of variables on the intention of ride-hailing among two age groups by dividing older adults into those aged 50–64 s and over 64 s. Theoretically, this study contributes to the existing research by providing one of the pioneering endeavors to comprehend the digital divide in ride-hailing service usage among older adults. Practically, our study holds considerable utility for policymakers, investors/the private sector, the end users (older adults), and their families to help bridge the digital divide of older adults using ride-hailing services. For example, policymakers could consider enhancing public Wi-Fi connectivity in communal spaces (community centers, parks, senior centers) and advocating for subsidized or specialized data plans tailored to the older population’s needs. Our study underscores the need for more considerable attempts among each stakeholder to bridge the digital divide for older adults in ride-hailing services.

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在中国老龄化社会和数字社会的碰撞下，老年人如何跨越数字鸿沟，享受打车服务的好处？

以前的学术努力从宏观角度研究老年人使用网约车服务的数字鸿沟，但未能深入研究每个操作步骤中的具体挑战。本研究旨在调查中国老年人的网约车服务，从微观角度关注使用过程中的数字鸿沟。我们使用老年人面对面调查数据（N = 811），分步分析老年人网约车应用运营中的数字鸿沟，将其分为九个步骤。其次，扩展创新扩散理论并应用于研究创新和数字化因素如何影响老年人使用网约车服务的意愿。结果表明，老年人在使用网约车软件时存在较大的“使用鸿沟”，特别是在以下三个步骤中：第6步：选择合适的网约车模式，第2步：注册并登录网约车账户，第5步：定位我当前的位置。考虑到用户特征，结构方程模型通过将老年人分为50-64岁和64岁以上，进一步揭示了变量对两个年龄组网约车意愿的差异效应。从理论上讲，本研究为理解老年人使用网约车服务的数字鸿沟提供了开创性的尝试之一，从而对现有研究做出了贡献。实际上，我们的研究对政策制定者、投资者/私营部门、最终用户（老年人）及其家人具有相当大的实用价值，有助于弥合老年人使用网约车服务的数字鸿沟。例如，政策制定者可以考虑加强公共空间（社区中心、公园、老年中心）的公共Wi-Fi连接，并倡导针对老年人口需求提供补贴或专门的数据计划。我们的研究强调，每个利益相关者都需要做出更大的努力，弥合老年人在叫车服务中的数字鸿沟。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Telematics and Informatics INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE-

CiteScore

17.00

自引率

4.70%

发文量

104

审稿时长

24 days

期刊介绍： Telematics and Informatics is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes cutting-edge theoretical and methodological research exploring the social, economic, geographic, political, and cultural impacts of digital technologies. It covers various application areas, such as smart cities, sensors, information fusion, digital society, IoT, cyber-physical technologies, privacy, knowledge management, distributed work, emergency response, mobile communications, health informatics, social media's psychosocial effects, ICT for sustainable development, blockchain, e-commerce, and e-government.